BBC 6 Music Blog Zeitgeist – Top Acts of 2012: Grimes

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I feel like picking Grimes as my final favourite act of 2012 so far is perhaps a bit of an obvious choice. Anyone with an interest in new music will already have heard of the wonderfully eccentric Canadian songstress, with her brilliantly quirky dream pop.

But then, I realised that it was okay to write about someone “obvious” because the reason everyone’s talking about her is because Grimes is genuinely exciting. She’s making interesting music – pop songs with a beautiful depth – and it’s one of the few recent instances where lots of hype around an artist actually seems merited. Grimes is doing something different; I can’t really think of any other music quite like this.

Her songs make me want to dance around like I’m in The Breakfast Club, with the spacey, sugary synths, the spangly keyboards and the wildly propulsive beats. Vocally she sings floaty and soft as a feather, and there’s something very sweet, strange and ethereal about it.

I haven’t listened to her first two albums yet, but her third – ‘Visions’, out earlier this year – is a masterful example of head in the clouds, dreamy pop music. She’s been making music since 2010, but if the hype is anything to go by then 2012 will be Grimes’ year; and rightfully so.

So, those are my three favourites of 2012 so far. Thanks a lot to producer Will for getting me involved, and in general to 6Music and the Hype Machine for nurturing new music and bloggers alike. You can listen to the show and see if any of my choices – or indeed, any of your own favourites – made the top 25 acts of the yeartomorrow night (June 24th). Those of you who Tweet can also keep an eye on #Blog6Music.